Office of Water Quality Technical Memorandum No. 2006.01
Office of Ground Water Technical Memorandum No. 2006.01

SUBJECT: Storage of Water-Level Data for Ground Water

This memorandum specifies and clarifies U.S Geological Survey (USGS)
requirements for the storage of water-level data collected at wells. The
requirements apply to all USGS-related National, regional, and local
programs and projects that measure water levels in wells. Projects for
which water-level data are collected include studies for which data on
water quality, aquifer chemistry, and microbiology might be a primary
focus.

STORAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER-LEVEL DATA

All ground-water-level data must be stored in NWIS (Brunett and others,
1997, p. 13), as specified below.

1. All time-series (continuous) ground-water levels that can be
   stored in the NWIS Automated Data Processing System (ADAPS) must be stored
   in that database.
   • ADAPS currently does not accept data collected more frequently than
     once per second, up to a total of 2881 values per day. Some data sets may
     exceed this threshold and thus are excluded from this requirement. An
     example is aquifer-test data. Water levels collected for aquifer tests may
     be stored outside of NWIS, but must be stored in digital form in the
     aquifer test archive described in Office of Ground Water Technical
     Memorandum 94.02.
   • The tape-down measurement made to calibrate a continuous recorder
     storing time-series water-level data is to be entered into the NWIS
     Ground-Water Site Inventory (GWSI).
   • Beginning with NWIS version 4.5, the discrete water-level data
     residing in GWSI can be brought into the HYDRA program as a reference data
     set for quality assuring the continuous water-level data. The policy on
     editing unit-value data using HYDRA is described in Office of Ground Water
     Technical Memorandum No. 2005.03.
     
2. All discrete measurements of ground-water levels collected as part of
   water-quality as well as ground-water data-collection activities must
   be stored in GWSI.
   • Discrete ground-water-level data collected as part of water-quality
     projects and programs must be entered onto paper or electronic field forms
     and into GWSI (USGS National Field Manual for the Collection of
     Water-Quality Data (NFM), Chapters 1.3, 4.2, and 6.0.3). The water-quality
     field form “Ground-Water Quality Notes” has been modified to provide the
     information and codes needed for entry of required data into GWSI. The
     field form can be accessed at http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/; under
     “Announcements.” Click on “Water-quality field forms for USGS use.”
   • Water-quality personnel also enter their ground-water-level data into
     QWDATA in order to expedite analysis of their water-quality data within the
     context of the hydrologic system.
   • Those collecting and managing water-level data are responsible for
     ensuring that the data entered onto field forms and into the GWSI and
     QWDATA subsystems of NWIS are correct and consistent.

FUTURE PLANS

The Offices of Ground Water and Water Quality are unified in their goal to
avoid duplication of data entry and inconsistency within NWIS subsystems.
For example, with version 4.1 of NWIS, water-quality field measurements
(pH, dissolved oxygen, etc.) that previously were stored in GWSI were moved
electronically into QWDATA. Although a timetable has not been set, the
Offices are determined to continue working toward a single-entry system for
water-level data.

REFERENCES

Brunett, J.O., Barber, N.L., Burns, A.W, Fogelman, R.P., Gillies, D.C.,
Lidwin, R.A., and Mack, T.J., 1997, A quality-assurance plan for
district ground-water activities of the U.S. Geological Survey: U.S.
Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-11, accessed December 14, 2005, at
http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/pubs/OFR9711/.

Office of Ground Water Technical Memorandum No. 1994.02, Guidance for the
preparation, approval, and archiving of aquifer-test results, 1994,
accessed December 14, 2005, at http://water.usgs.gov/admin/memo/GW/gw94.02.html.

Office of Ground Water Technical Memorandum No. 2005.03, Use of the Program
HYDRA to Estimate or Modify Unit Values in ADAPS, 2005, accessed
December 14, 2005, at http://water.usgs.gov/admin/memo/GW/gw05.03.html.

Wilde, F.D., 2005, Ground Water, Section 1.3 of Chapter 1 (version 1.2,
dated 8/2005) in National Field Manual for the Collection of
Water-Quality Data, accessed December 14, 2005, at
http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/chapter1/Ch1_contents.html.

Wilde, F.D., Schertz, T.L., and Radtke, D.B., 1999, Quality-Control
Samples, Section 4.3 of Chapter 4 (dated 9/1999) in National Field
Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data, accessed December 14,
2005, at http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/chapter4/html/Ch4_contents.html.

Wilde, F.D., and Radtke, D.B., 2005, Ground Water, Section 6.0.3 of Chapter
6 (version 1.2, dated 8/2005) in National Field Manual for the
Collection of Water-Quality Data, accessed December 14, 2005, at
http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/Chapter6/6.0_contents.html

This memorandum does not supercede any other technical memorandum.

Distribution: All WRD Employees

(See attached file: WL-storage oqw-ogw_2006.01.doc)
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Timothy L. Miller, Chief, Office of Water Quality
U.S. Geological Survey
412 National Center
Reston, VA 20192
703/648-6868
703/648-5722 (fax)
tlmiller@usgs.gov
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